Sr Manager R&D

Position Title: Sr Manager R&D - Regulatory Affairs CE & GB 

Position Type: Regular - Full-Time ​

Requisition ID: 37501 

The Senior R&D Regulatory Affairs Manager is responsible for product composition, claims and label regulatory compliance for finished goods manufactured and sold in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa and United Kingdom.

The position supports the region's commercial goals and includes key day-to-day business continuity activities, e.g. formula reviews, marketing and nutrition claim exploration, and global product commercialization.The position also supports long-term strategies and projects to advance McCain's regional and global business plans, e.g. helping to streamline product compliance across multiple countries, horizon scanning for emerging regulatory changes, ensuring specification systems are fit for purpose to capture regulatory requirements and participation in trade associations.

Regional responsibilities are aligned with McCain's Global Regulatory guidance and expectations

The role is expected to be 70% internally focused on supporting the regional R&D team & business operations. The other 30% will be externally focused and include work in Technical Committees of Trade Associations.

The position is ideally located in France (Lille) or the Netherlands (Amsterdam). 

Responsibilities

Product compliance

• Acts as the subject matter expert on food legislation and guidelines issued by regulatory authorities (national/regional):
  • Interprets legislation requirements, shares industry best practices and recommends regulatory positions.
  • Develops and maintains regional procedures to approve product formulas, ingredients, labels and other marketing material aligned with business requirements and ensures specification systems are fit for purpose to capture compliance
  • Holds ownership of regional labelling standards.
  • Supports business partners (Procurement, R&D, Marketing, etc.) on new product development, product reformulations, product claims exploration and label redesigns as needed to ensure regulatory compliance.
• Manages regulatory approval procedures with external consultants in the Middle East and North Africa, for example.
• Conducts regulatory risk assessments (regulatory investigation, data collection, industry calibration, etc.) in collaboration with other cross-functional teams,
• Advocates and sponsors change management or training initiatives to support cross-functional team members and their contribution to regulatory compliance for continued efficiency and accuracy.

Legislation Watch & Response

• Keeps abreast of emerging legislation on product composition, ingredient and food labelling requirements.
  • Communicates and works with cross-functional team members to estimate impact and evaluate state of readiness.
  • Identifies strategies to influence regulatory outcomes.
  • Mitigates potential impact through early interventions.
  • Coordinates implementation of regulatory directives.

Commercial Projects and Global Regulatory initiatives

• Liaises with Global and other regional regulatory contacts to review product compliance on global initiatives.
• Supports regulatory evaluations for new global ingredients or technology solutions.
• Supports McCain's Global Regulatory Agenda (e.g., monitoring and responding to International emerging legislation monitoring and response).

Other regulatory activities

• Provide support on technical aspects of crisis management related to food labelling and use of ingredients.
• Generates, coordinates or supports responses to customers or Government requests in collaboration with other cross-functional teams.
• Coordinates Government approvals/registrations as needed.
• Leads and executes non-routine regulatory activities or business projects that require investigation, interpretation, and recommendation for decision making (e.g., claims related language).

External Liaison

• Participates in relevant Technical Committees of Trade Associations (focus France, United Kingdom, The Netherlands) by:
  • Keeping abreast of Government's emerging actions on regulatory matters
  • Providing technical perspective to influence proposed Government Legislation and Industry proposals
  • Requesting support on regulatory issues
  • Sharing and expanding knowledge on acceptable labelling practices
  • Benchmarking/calibrating with industry best practices
• Establishes working relationships with regulatory authorities, as appropriate, at the local and national levels to consult and bring potential issues to resolution.

People Management

• The position has 3 direct reports, Regulatory Experts based in Lille, Scarborough and Dubai

Key qualifications & experiences:

• Bachelor's degree in food science, microbiology or related technical discipline. MSc would be preferred.
• Minimum ten (10) years of experience working within a large global food manufacturing organization in Regulatory Affairs.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in Regulatory Affairs in Europe (including United Kingdom) and preferably the Middle East.
• Ability to become a credible voice and leader in the company on Regulatory Compliance, including but not limited to the review and approval of food composition requirements, ingredients and food labelling information.
• Advanced knowledge on product marketing claims substantiation and other labelling information. General knowledge on food safety requirements (microbiological standards, food contaminants).
• Proven experience conducting risk assessments to manage regulatory issues.
• Advanced knowledge of Government agencies and regulatory approval pathways. Demonstrated interaction with regulatory authorities to advance issue resolution.
• Proven participation in Trade Associations and working committees to review regulatory and industry initiatives and positively influence regulatory outcomes.
• General knowledge on third party certification requirements and procedures.
• Record of having led transformative initiatives, demonstrating an ability to influence the business to achieve positive results.
• Candidates must have hands on approach; demonstrate strong intellect and proficient skills in communications, combined with a drive to deliver results.
• Ability to influence key stakeholders and peers. Ability to stand alone, set clear standards and hold other accountable to a critical requirement.
• Ability to build strong relationships and credibility internally and with key strategic external partners.
• The Regulatory Affairs Manager must have high planning capabilities, as she/he will be involved in numerous projects. The ability to engage others to lead or engage in key projects will be essential.
• Excellent communication skills: is able to effectively and persuasively articulate positions both verbally and in electronic mediums to various audiences including senior executives in a clear, concise and compelling manner.
• Courage to have difficult discussions with groups from all level of the organization.
• Strong team player, highly motivated, who can effectively interface with and present results to all levels of management and teams across the business.
• People management experience.

More information about McCain:

McCain is a leading Canadian company in the frozen potato products market. With 22,000 employees worldwide, more than 1,000 employees in France and a presence for over 40 years, McCain France has created a partnership with 800 farmers.

Today, McCain has 49 production plants worldwide. McCain promotes values of integrity, authenticity, commitment and solidarity by being an agent of change in a context where the safety of all is paramount.

To achieve this, actions in favor of environmental protection have been put in place: sustainable agriculture, efficient use of resources, quality food and prosperous communities

McCain Foods is an equal opportunity employer. As a global family-owned company, we strive to be the employer of choice in the diverse communities around the world in which we live and work. We recognize that inclusion drives our creativity, resilience, and success and makes our business stronger. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

McCain is an accessible employer. If you require an accommodation throughout the recruitment process (including alternate formats of materials or accessible meeting rooms), please let us know and we will work with you to find appropriate solutions. 

Your privacy is important to us. By submitting personal data or information to us, you agree this will be handled in accordance with McCain's Global Privacy Policy and Global Employee Privacy Policy, as applicable. You can understand how your personal information is being handled here. 

Job Family: Research & Development      
Division: Global Research and Development 
Department: ​Regulatory Affairs ​
Location(s): FR - France : Nord : Villeneuve-d'Ascq 

Company: McCain Alimentaire SAS